Folding table



Sept'. 3, 1940. c. J. sYMMoNDs 2,213,681

FOLDING TABLE Fned sept. 11, 1939 s sheets-sheet 1 1 1 l a 6 e 7 7 [4J/6 O 9 ,1261/ $75540 0.1 fr i /f /6 l ll l/ II [l :l 1J] l /f ,y /a /je M 31 e 43 Z7 fg /J J4 44 3,9 a/ v5 30 17 5/ 1845 42634257 j ff@ as 30 5f ze a@ 55 Sept 3, 1940. c. J. sYMMoNDs 2,213,681

FOLDING TABLE Filed sept. 11, 1939 s sheets-sneer 3 fjigf' /N VE N TOR Charles. JSz//ff/Wo/ms 5v MM Patented Sept. 3, 1940 Srila'i @infiniti @Frith FOLDING TABLE Charles li. Syrnmonds, Chevy Chase, Application September 1l, 1939, Serial No 294,345

3 Claims. (Cl. Sli- 85) (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as

amended Aipril 3i), 192B; 371i G. 757) This invention described herein may be manuin my Patent No. 1,980,450, by providing means factured and used by or for the Government for for simultaneously collapsing or extending pairs governmental purposes, without the payment to of legs of a table and to cause the upper surfaces me of any royalty thereon. of the legs of said pairs to lie in the same plane This invention relates to a table having folding with the legs of one pair alternating with the 5 legs, more particularly it is directed to a folding, legs of the other pair when in a collapsed or eX- locking and leg bracing mechanism for a table tended position, whereby the number of parts for ordinarily having a nat top. collapsing or extending the legs may be reduced One of the objects of the invention is to provide and the depth of the sides of the table may be a folding, locking and leg bracing mechanism diminished as compared to the above mentioned 10 which is adapted to be easily and quickly applied patent, thus reducing the cost of manufacture of to an article of furniture such as a table having the table, improving its appearance and increasfolding legs, to provide means for simultaneously ing its compactness when the legs of the table are folding and unfolding the legs thereof, also for collapsed. rigidly bracing said legs when in an unfolded or With the above and other objects and adoperative position and for locking said leg folding vantages in View, the invention specifically conand unfolding mechanism including said legs into sists in features of construction, arrangement and a position as usage requires. operation of parts Which Will be described and Another object of the invention is to provide claimed with reference to the accompanying 2O a table having folding legs and including amechdrawings in Which like reference numbers dis- 20 anism for simultaneously folding and unfolding iingUiSh like Darts and in Which: n said legs into an operative and inoperative posi- Fia 1 iS e perspective VieW 0f my feiding table non. said table being cheap in construction, iight with the lees thereof in operative position havin weight, also strong, rigid and stable, and said ing my improved invention applied thereto;

mechanism being simple and easy to construct Fig- 2 iS en enlarged fragmentary frOnt ele- 25 and easily and conveniently manipulated for fold- VetiOn 0f a Side pertOn 0f my irnDrOVed ieg fOiCiN ing and unfolding the legs of said table. ing, 10Cking endieg bracing meehensin;

In my Patent No. 1,980,450, there is disclosed Fig- 3 iS e bOttOm Dien VieW partly in Section a folding type table in which an operating lever 0f Figl; is caused to rotate first on one pivot and later Fig- 4 iS e fragmentary inverted Cross-SectiOnal 30 upon another pivot for moving nrst one set of VieW 0f anOtiler Side DOrtOn Of the improved leg unitary leg members and then another set of fOiding, 10Cking and leg breeing meChaniSrn, unitary leg members into folded or unfolded posi- *teken 011 1in@ i--fi 0f Fig- 3, looking in the dire@- tion. It has been found that if the pivot on which iiOn 0f' the errOWS; the operating lever rotates is caused to remain Fig- 5 iS e bOiitOm Dien VieW 0f my table With 35 stationary at all times instead of rotating first on` the legs iii'lereOf ShOWn fOlded rltO an inODeratiVe one pivot and later upon another and that if the position? upper surface of the legs are caused to lie in the Fie 6 iS en enlarged fragmentary detail persaine plane with the legs of one set alternating spective View illustrating the manner of pivotally 40 Wgh thg lags 0f the other Set, that is one leg 0f securing one side of each pair of legs ofthe table 40 one set being adjacent to a leg of another set t0 the table 130D and? and the other leg of the nrst set being adjacent Fig '7 is an enlarged fagmentary detail 19erio the other ieg of the second set at opposite sides Speetive View illustrating the manner of pivotally of the table when in a folded or inoperative posi- SeCllli-ng the Other Side Of eeen pair 0f lei-5S t0 the tion7 then the sets of unitary leg members may be table t0n- 45 simultaneously moved into an operative or in.. In the illustrated embodiment characterizing operative position, thus reducing the number of my invention T indicates generally an improved linkage parts for folding and unfolding the legs article of furniture, here illustrated in the form of diminishing the depth of the sides of the a table to which my invention may be applied table as compared to the number of linkage parts for collapsing and extending the pairs of legs 2 required and the depth of the sides of the table and Z and 3 and 3 reSDeCtVelY- in the patent above referred to. The table T comprises a top supporting frame It is therefore the aim and purpose of this ini having depending side rails 5 and 6 Which are vention to provide an improvement over the foldjoined together at their ends by means of corner o5 ing, locking and leg bracing mechanism disclosed irons i which are attached to the side rails 5 and 55 to both bar and legs.

6 by bolts 8 and nuts 9. Extending transversely across the side rails and suitably connected thereto at its ends is a `stabilizing beam or crossbrace Nl which is parallel to and equidistant from the side rails 5. Mounted on the supporting frame bi is a table top il which is suitably fastened to the rails 5 and 6 and the beam l0.

The legs 2 and 2 and 3 and 3 are assembled into pairs by-means of cross bars I2 which are xedly secured each to its pair of legs by means of angle irons I3 securely fastened by screws i4 The angle irons i3 are pivotally connected at l5 to angle irons I6 and Il which pivotally support each pair of legs on the opposite sides thereof, to the frame li of the table.

The angle irons I5 pivotally support the leg side 2 and the leg side 3 of the pairs of legs ,2 and 2 and 3 and 3 on two diagonal corners of the table and as more particularly illustrated in Fig. 6 each comprises a depending portion i8, an outwardly extending portion i9 at right angles thereto and upwardly extending portions 2Q. The upwardly extending portions 20 of the angle irons i6 are formed at right angles to each other whereby they may be tted into a corner of the table, one of the angle irons i5 being se` cured in one corner ofthe table and another angle iron it being secured in another corner of the table diagonal thereto, which are formed by the meeting of certain ends of the side rails 5 and S, where they are secured in said corners to the inner surface of the side rails 5 and 6 by means of the same bolts 8 and nuts 9 which are used for attaching the corner irons 'i to the side rails 5 and The angle irons il pivotally support the leg side 2' and the leg side 3 of the pairs of legs in the other diagonal corners of the table and as more particularly illustrated in Fig. 7 each angle iron Il comprises aldepending portion 2i, on inwardly extending portion 22 at right angles thereto which is of less length than the outwardly extending portion I9 of the angle irons i6 and is adapted to seat up against a shoulder 23 formed by groove 24 provided on the inner surfaceadjacent one end of each of the side rails 6p The angle irons il also include an upwardly extending portion 25 and a portion 25 bent at right angles thereto so that the upwardly extending portion 25 and the portion 26 of the angle irons Il day be tted into a corner of the table which is diagonally opposite to the corner formed by the meeting ofthe other ends of the side rails 5 and 6 and secured to the in"` ner surfaces of the side rails in said corners by the bolts S and nuts 9 which are used for attaching the irons 'l of these corners to the side rails.

By this construction the leg side 2 of the pair of legs 2 and 2 and the leg side 3, of the pair of legs 3 and 3', or in other words one leg of each pair, is situated close to its corner so that it will lie Valong the lower edge of the side rails when in a folded or inoperative position, as illustrated in Fig. 5, and the other leg 2 of the'pair of legs 2 and 2 and the leg 3 of the pair of legs 3 and 3 are pivoted a short distance away from their corners diagonally of the tablein order to allow the legs 2 and 3 and the legs 2 and 3 to fold adjacent to each other on opposite sides of the table in alternate relation and Vwith the upper surface of the legs being in the same plane.

The set of legs 2.. and 2" and Sand 3 are further secured to the cross bars I2 by xed braces 21. 'Ihe legs are braced perpendicular to the plane thereof by folding or collapsible braces 28 and 29 comprising links 39 and 3l which are pivotally connected together at one end at 32. The other ends of the links 39 are pivoted to the legs 2 and 2' and 3 and 3 at 33, while the other ends of the links 3i terminate in inverted substantially V-shaped offset portions 39 which are pivotally secured to the connecting bars and side rails 5 at 35. The substantially V-shaped offset portions 3e on the ends of links 3l are inverted from the offset portions disclosed in my above mentioned patent, whereby the folding or collapsible braces 28 and 29 may be shortened which gives greater strength and stability thereto and permits an operating lever to pivot nearer the top of the table whereby the depth of the sides of the table may be diminished, improving its appearance and increasing its compactness when the legs thereof are in an inoperative or collapsed position.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 4, a stop 3l is provided as `an extension of the links 3i of the foldingV braces 28 and 29 to abut against the table side of links 30 and thus prevent the braces from unfolding beyond a straight line and holding them in a more rigid position. Connecting rods 33 and 39 are provided between the inverted V-shaped offsets 34 of the links 3i, one of the ends of said rods being pivotally secured to said oisets at 4@ and 4I, respectively, and the other ends thereof terminating in crooks 42 and 42', respectively, which crooks 42 and 52' are pivotally secured to spaced pivot bearings 43 and 44 provided on opposite ends and on opposite sides of rotatable lever or crank members 45. The rods 38 and 33 are so connected with the inverted V-shaped offsets 34 and the lever members 45 that the crooks 42 and ft2 on the connecting rods 38 and 39 are in opposed relation to each other. Each lever member i5 is xedly secured by welding or in any other suitable manner, such as by a set screw 46 to an operating or control lever O which extends across the table between the connecting bars 35 and side rails and has one of said lever. members l5 xedly secured at each of the remote ends thereof. The said remotev ends of the lever O extend through each of the connecting bars 35 and pivotally engage in a well 4l! provided in the side rails 6 of the table, midway between the pivot bearings 93 and 44 of the lever members 45 thereby making the pivot, upon which the control lever or handle O rotates, stationary at all times. In order to provide smoothness in the rotation of the lever O each remote end thereof may rotate in a bearing i8 which extends through the connecting bar 35 into the well 4i in the side rails 3, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

The'control lever or handle O containing the lever members is connected bysaid lever members to all of the side corner or leg moving linkages so that upon movement thereof both sets of legs 2 and 2 and 3 and 3' will simultaneously be collapsed or extended into operative position. This control lever O comprises a substantially bail or U-shaped member i9 made of resilient material which is adapted to be sprung into a locked or latched position by means of any suitable spaced latch members 5U and 5I. In the present case the latch members 50 and 5IV are pivotally secured to opposite sides of the cross-brace Hl and each comprises a finger engaging portion 52 which is held in an operative position by means of a spring 53.

To operate my device when the legs of the table are in an extended or open position, as illustrated in Figs. l, 3 and 4, I proceed as follows:

I rst grasp one of the sides of the table paralleling the leg axis and place the table in a sloping inverted position so that the extended legs will be away from me. Next with the other hand I grasp the operating lever O near its middle, press slightly thereon and push outwardly on the nger engaging portion 52 of the latch member 50, thus rotating the latch member 5!! on its pivot against the action of its spring 53 to release the operating lever therefrom and thenl swing the operating lever across the bottom of the table.

As the operating lever is swung upon the axis of rotation thereof, it rotates the lever members 45, whereby upon a half turn being given to the lever members 45, the pivot bearings 43 and S4 thereon which join the connecting rods 38 and 39 to the lever members 65 will change positions, the first bearing 43 moving over to the other side of the lever members and the pivot bearing 44 Inoving over to the opposite side of the lever members, thereby causing the crook ends 42 of the connecting rods 38 and the crook ends 42 of the connecting rods 39 to change positions, whereby equal movement is applied to the connecting rods 33 and 39 for forcing the connecting rods against the inverted V-shaped offset portions 311 which rotate the folding or collapsible braces 28 and` 29 on their pivots 36, thus simultaneously folding the pairs of legs 2 and 2 and 3 and 3 on their axis l5 into inoperative position with the legs of one pair alternating with the legs of the other pair and with the upper surfaces of the legs -being in the same plane, as illustrated in Fig. 5. The operating lever is then swung into its latched position with the latch member 5|, thus locking the legs 2 and 2 and 3 and 3', into their collapsed or inoperative position. To raise the legs from their collapsed position the movement of the operating lever is simply reversed, thus rotating the lever members 45. The reverse movement of the operating lever O and lever members 155 causes both pairs of legs to be simultaneously moved into an extended or operative position. The lever O is then sprung into a locked position with the latch member 59 against the action of its spring 53 to lock the pairs of legs 2 and 2 and 3 and 3 into their extended or operative position.

It will thus be seen that I have invented a novel, simple and efficient article of furniture of the folding type which is Well adapted for all the purposes designated. Even though I have herein shown and described my device as comprising certain structural elements, it is nevertheless to be understood that changes may be made therein if the changes do not depart from. the spirit or scope of the claims.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and wish to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A table of the folding type comprising in combination, a frame having ends, a table top on said frame, a unitary pair of leg members pivoted to said frame at each end, a plurality of folding braces having outer and inner ends, one of each of the outer ends of said folding braces pivoted to one of each of said legs and the inner ends of said folding braces pivoted to certain opposite sides of said frame, an operating lever having ends pivoted to said opposite sides of said frame, block members, one of each of said block members xedly secured to one of each of the ends cf said lever, bars, one end of one of each of said bars pivoted to one end of one of each of said block members and one of each of other ends of said bars pivoted to one of each of the inner ends of said folding braces whereby upon the opera tion of said lever said pairs of leg members are simultaneously moved to a folded or unfolded position;

2. A table of the folding type comprising in combination, a frame having ends, a table top on said frame, a unitary pair of leg members pivoted to said frame at each end, a plurality of folding braces having outer and inner ends, one of each of the outer ends of said folding braces pivoted to one of each of said legs and the inner ends of said folding braces pivoted to certain opposite sides of said frame, an operating lever having ends pivoted to said opposite sides of said frame, block members, one of each of said block members iixedly secured to one of each of the ends of said lever, bars, one end of one of each of said bars having crooks thereon pivoted to one end of one of each of said block members and one of each of the other ends of said bars pivoted to one of each of the inner ends of said folding braces whereby upon the operation of said lever said pairs of legs are simultaneously moved to a folded or unfolded position. v

3. A table of the folding type comprising in combination, a frame having ends, a table top on said frame, a unitary pair of leg members pivoted to said frame at each end, a plurality of folding braces having outer and inner ends, inverted substantially V-shaped offset portions provided on the inner ends of said folding braces, one of each of the outer ends of said folding braces pivoted to one of each of said legs and the substantially V-shaped oifset portions on the inner ends of said folding braces pivoted to certain opposite sides of said frame, an operating lever having rectilinear axial ends pivoted to said opposite sides of said frame, block members, one of each of said block members iixedly secured to one of each of the said axial ends of said lever, and bars, one end of one of each of said bars being bent and pivoted to one end of one of each of said block members and one of each of other ends of said bars pivoted to one of each of said substantially V-shaped offsetportions on the inner ends of said folding braces, whereby upon the operation of said lever said pairs of legs are simultaneously moved to a folded or unfolded position.

. CHARLES J. SYMMONDS. 

